Virat Kohli to join club comprising Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman and Sachin Tendulkar. The Indian captain, who is eyeing a Test series victory Down Under, is only eight runs away from reaching 1,000 Test runs in Australia.

Kohli currently has 992 runs from eight Test matches played in Australia, with a highest score of 169, which he made during the 2014 tour at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. In Australia, Kohli averages 62 with five Test hundreds and two half-centuries to his name.

Talking about the other three Indians ahead of Kohli in the list, Tendulkar amassed 1809 runs, Laxman 1236 and Dravid 1143 runs.

Kohli is already making the Australians think way before the start of the much-touted Test series. On Monday, former Australian fast bowler Jason Gillespie and Ricky Ponting suggested ways to contain the Indian captain.

“You need to be switched on from ball one. Because if (Virat) Kohli has faced 20-odd balls and he has got more than 10-15 runs, he usually gets a significant score. And that is why it Is so crucial to impact early. There cannot be any warm-up deliveries against Kohli,” Gillespie was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo.